The invention relates to an electrical switchgear apparatus comprising:
a fixed part connected to an electrical power distribution system, PA1 a removable part comprising at least one electrical switchgear apparatus designed to be connected to the electrical power distribution system via the fixed part, PA1 first connecting means designed to be easily connected and disconnected to connect the apparatus of the removable part to the fixed part and to the electrical power distribution system, and PA1 a processing unit associated to the electrical apparatus and located on the removable part.
Known electrical switchgear apparatuses comprise a fixed part connected in permanent manner to an electrical power system and a removable part able to be easily connected to and disconnected from the fixed part. In the case of a circuit breaker, the fixed part is a frame or support comprising fixed connectors connected to the electrical power system. The removable part is a circuit breaker comprising connecting studs designed to be connected to the fixed connectors.
In known manner, the removable parts such as circuit breakers, contactors or switches comprise auxiliary control or indicating circuits. These auxiliary circuits are connected to monitoring or control circuits via plug-in contacts arranged between the fixed part and the removable part.
The circuit breakers comprise electronic processing units equipped with setting devices. Said settings notably concern tripping curves which require the current threshold and time delay value parameters to be set. When these settings are complex, the processing units store the setting parameters in memory.
It is also known to fit communication devices in electrical switchgear apparatuses. These devices are generally used to transmit or receive information concerning the status of the apparatus, the currents flowing in the power system, or control orders.
The communication devices are disposed on the removable part and connected notably to an electronic trip device. When the switchgear apparatus is a circuit breaker, the communication device is connected to a communication network via plug-in contacts arranged between the fixed part and the removable part. Preferably, the communication network comprises a two-wire bus.
When several communication devices are connected to the communication bus, each device comprises an addressing means so as to identify the messages it transmits or receives. The addressing means are for example thumb-wheels, blocks of several contacts or electronic memories.
The removable parts of the electrical switchgear apparatus are designed to be easily disconnected and replaced by personnel specialized in maintenance of electrical installations. This personnel must be able to replace the electrical switchgear apparatuses, such as circuit breakers, in a simple and reliable manner without having to perform any work on complex settings of the electronic circuit breakers or the communication devices.
However, switchgear apparatuses comprising complex trip devices or communication devices require work to be carried out each time a replacement is made. This work mainly involves re-establishing all the processing unit settings and notably configuration of the communication address.